2008 Woodward Stakes

[DanielSong39]

One of the best horses I've seen in the past decade, along with Ghostzapper and Invasor.

Ran his heart out in the Classic but was spent in mid-stretch.

[thehonzie1]

easy goer all the way

[gchockey4545]

Curlin Blows BB would own him anyday. Culin beat no good horse. Come on Wanderin boy he one once in 2008 and it was a 78k allowance. BB can win on Turf against stiff competition like Proudinsky coming of 2 impressive wins worth 650k and Shakis coming off a win in the bernard Baruch H. beating the likes off War Monger, Proudinsky and Thorn Song. He didnt even finish in the Money in the Classic beaten by Tiago, Henrythenavigator and Ravens Pass wow.

[bigbrownfan12345]

street sense, hard spun, lawyer ron, any given saturday, and well armed aren't good horses? remember, BB finished last (9th!) in the Belmont to some pretty mediorcre competition. he lost to DA'TARA...curlin would leave BB in the dust.

[BigBrown2332]

NOooooooooo....curlin would probably not beat BB but curlin is a awsome racehorse i think that all the horses you mentioned are better than what you would ever had if you trained horses can you come 2nd to in the derby or win, would you win the woodward stakes noo or could you win the goodwood and the DUBIA WORLD CUP>@!!!!!!!!noooooo

[bigbrownfan12345]

I'm not saying Big Brown was a bad horse, he just wouldn't have been able to beat Curlin. He was a nice horse in a less-than-stellar year of racing. No, I wouldn't be able to train a horse well enough to even get INTO the Derby, but could you?

[BigBrown2332]

Haha no sorry for being rude. But i want to train horses eventually i train horse to be saddle broke now im 14 trained 2 horses so far.

[bigbrownfan12345]

wow lol waaay better than i could do :)

[BigBrown2332]

Ya but look at coal play he wasn't even a graded stakes placer i still think BB would win but Curlin beat the best in a the world twice BCC and Dubai world cup. Curlin would be probably 3 lengths behind at the wire or even closer up. But it would be close.

[CiscoGirl07]

RIP Wanderin' Boy.

[BrianShaw23]

shouldnt* have been pulled up. typo =p

[VanorOrion]

i want to see big brown and curlin fight it out in the breeders cup, i think it will be great race.

[BrianShaw23]

curlins last 3 races have been average to good. his man o war wasnt great, his stephen foster was slow and his woodward was slow also. curlin is not a very good horse over short distances, his only really good races have been over 10 furlongs. but so has big brown's.

[BrianShaw23]

he was gaining*

[BrianShaw23]

man.. everytime i watch this i cant believe how slow curlin looked. curlin is not a 9 furlong horse at all.

[AIRE000000]

trainers r not skipping the bc because of the the "untested surface" they're skipping cuz big brown is going. If the nw surface means is risk for the horses then big brown is the one risking the most cuz is by far the most expensive horse. So the risk is not t new surface they just don't want to get beat by bb.

[BrianShaw23]

were*

[BrianShaw23]

i think its funny you guys think this was a good race. curlins last 3 races werent average at most. 14 second final furlong.... pathetic.

[BrianShaw23]

big brown is simply a better horse than curlin. big brown is better over 9 furlongs, 9.5 furlongs and 10 furlongs. big brown's kentucky derby from the 20th post going 5 wide the ENTIRE trip simply blows away any of curlins 10 furlong races. if both horses ran their races in the breeders cup classic big brown would win by at least 2.5 lengths.

[vtb6]

Curlin was just playing around with those horses. He was just saving something for next time. The two horses he passed in the stretch where wore down from setting such quick early fractions. Curlin could have probably blew past them to win by 5 or 6 lengths.

[DarwinCharles]

14 second final 8th. ZZzzzZZZzzzz

[AIRE000000]

yeah we all see curlin responded as soon as it was asked versus bb that it seems got a hard time to pass coal play what we don't see is that the oponents of curlin were way slower than coal play, now see how many lenghts curlin was ahead the third place at the finish line and then see bb... see the difference ?

[BrianShaw23]

and dont forget big brown is really a turf horse not a dirt.

big browns maiden race on turf was mind blowing, he was only 2 and a half years old at the time.

[BrianShaw23]

and please, the only reason the owner of curlin doesnt want to go to the breeder's cup classic is because hes afraid of big brown winning. 10 furlongs is the perfect distance for big brown. i feel big brown has the best chance to win it.

[giselle433]

actually, I read in an article that many trainers may be skipping the Breeder's Cup Classic because of the new surface. I think Curlin's owner is justified in not putting his horse at risk on an untried surface.

[JimSpoor]

I think he doesn't want to race on the Polytrack....this horse would drag Big Brown around the track when they really crank him up like he was for the Dubai race.

[giselle433]

Jim - I like the way you put that..."this horse would drag Big Brown around the track..." Great visual.

[realeasygoer]

curlin overcame a rough trip and responded as soon as he was asked to win like a true champion so it is no comparison to big browns haskell where bb only started to gain on a allowance when the hores tired. for a while bb was being asked and was still being left.

[ghostzapper2006]

Curlin is nice and has a larger resume, but I'd take Ghostzapper over this horse at any distance up to 1 1/4 , any day.

[ThoroughbredGirl96]

Yay Curlin! He's the best!

[izvestia03]

i am not an expert but it seems to me that curlin made up all his ground(and there was a fair bit of ground to make up) when they were still going at torrid fractions--yes the final eighth was slow but he put in an extremely fast previous eighth i think--feel free to correct me if i am wrong--he is and always has been my favorite horse since last year--hope we see him in the JGC at belmont.

[giselle433]

Absolutely, Izvestia. He had a lot of ground to make up when they were still setting some fast fractions. He's the best there is.

[kc8767]

Big race from the 2nd place horse!! Curlin is still one of the greats though.

[curlin1234]

I was there to watch him win this one!! What a horse, coming off a great grass effort, he comes right back firing a win! He'll only inmprove off this one, he had to work a little harder, and he's proved time and again that he's more than capable of excelling off gut wrenchers. go Curlin!!

[flashywings66]

Tiznow would have eatin Curlin for breakfast,lunch and dinner!

[Bbird408]

you are a fool. Tiznow was a monster, but Curlin is too. It would have been a scrap. No walkover.

[BrianShaw23]

and people say big browns haskell was unimpressive. big browns haskell was far better than curlins woodward.

[Bbird408]

Curlin just wins. What else was he supposed to do. He sat back and reeled in the lone leader.

[giselle433]

Brian - how do you figure that Big Brown's Haskell was better than curlin's Woodward?

[izvestia03]

thanx giselle-- and i agree--the best there is.

[ghostzapper2006]

Big Brownstains Haskell was better?????  A horse who was all out to run down a horse who had never won a G1 race and who came home in 13:4, and BB's Haskell was better???? LMFAO, get off the meds that Drugtow gave you Big Brownstain hypester, LOL.

BB's connections want nothing of Curlin on real dirt. Big Brown would not be within 5 lengths of Curlin on natural dirt and even drugtow knows it. :-)

[BrianShaw23]

"Big Brownstains" lmao. just admit you're biased against big brown. 2nd, big brown was rated the 3rd best horse in the world by timeform. as for the woodward, coal play wouldve beaten all those horses with the way he ran. and 2nd, big brown came off a bad race and hadnt run in 2 months. considering that its more impressive than curlin barely winning in a time of more than 1:49.

[giselle433]

Do you know who Timeform rated as the best horse in the world? I believe it was Curlin. I would think coming off of two months of rest, Big Brown would have blown the field away. In fact, I remember hearing an announcer say that Big Brown SHOULD have blown the field away and didn't.

[realeasygoer]

brianshaw23 past the point ran his first 6f in 1:09 and change coal play did his in 1:11 and bb got whipped and only caught coal play when he tired. curlin responded as as soon as he was asked and won by a wider margin. the mammoth stakes was not even a graded race bb was the only G1 winner in that race he won by a neck with 2nd and 3rd horses closing on him

[BrianShaw23]

past the point also got tired which is why curlin was lucky enough to win. if you watched big browns monmouth stakes (which the final time was much faster than the woodward, curlin ran the slowest woodward in a long time)randy moss said coal play was still running, it was big browns determination and speed that won him the race in the end. if you actually think curlins woodward or his stephen foster races were good, then please cut the bullshit. they were slow and average against crap horses.

[realeasygoer]

to brianshaw23 slow times dont mean the hores is better slew ran slower times than affirmed in the triple crown. when they met slew beat him by open lengths going wire to wire. big browns hype going up to the classic reminds me of fusiechi pegasus big brown will most likly share the same fate in the classic no most of my past classic picks have won if curlindoes not go the race is wide open please coal play's stride had shortened even cool coal man was gaining.

[BrianShaw23]

you're such a blatant liar. you can tell big brown was gaining because you was GAINING and pulling away on cool coal play. coal play didnt have what it took to beat big brown. and please, the reason they awarded curlin a 112 in the woodward was because of his reputation. no way in hell was that a 112 beyer speed figure performance. to prove the bias towards big brown, they only gave him a 109 for his kentucky even though he ran 5 wide the entire track and still put up a very fast time.

[VanorOrion]

i really want to see big brown and curlin meet. i want to see brown kick his ass.curlins trainer knows that is what will happen.

[Ruffian4Ever]

A fast time?! Are you crazy? 2:01 and 4/5 is not that fast, unless you are going to mention that they "adjusted" his time. Get over it. Secretariat still holds the record, and Curlin is still better than your pitiful Big Brown.

[BrianShaw23]

funny how big browns "allowance races" have more video views than curlins "dubai" and "BCC" wins. LOL! big brown is a lot more popular than curlin. and yes, the kentucky derby and preakness stakes champion is a pitiful horse. I SO AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT!

[Ruffian4Ever]

You are such a retard. Curlin ran in ONE msw and jumped right in to graded stakes company. Big Brown, well, he needed two warmups. And I will continue to say that the ONLY reason BB is more popular is because he won a more televised race. Popularity doesnt make one horse better over the other-its what they actually do that counts. And Curlin has done more. Now quit your crying and move on.

[BrianShaw23]

lol im not crying. you are the one bashing big brown on almost every curlin-big brown video. =/ ive never bashed curlin once, calling his last few races "slow" is not bashing.

[Ruffian4Ever]

Shut the hell up and quit lying. You have bashed him-saying his races were unimpressive and saying they are slow is also bashing. I wouldnt say I was totally bashing either then-I was just pointing out facts.

[Ruffian4Ever]

And it is funny how you are crowning him a "champion" just because he won those two classics. There have been plenty of horses who one the first two legs to not become an eclipse champion. And please, remind everyone of how he did in the third jewel of the triple. Yup, looked like a champ to me!

[BrianShaw23]

he won 7 of 8 races so far. his belmont was a fluke, if you actually think those horses he ran against the in the belmont were better... well then, good luck to you lol. if you watched the race, he had one of the worst starts you could have. and probably the heat got to him, everything went against him since his preakness win.

[Ruffian4Ever]

Keep making excuses-but the facts are in front of me and it doesnt look good.

7 of 8 races is good I admit-but any supposed "grade 1" horse can do it when racing against a poor crop of horses.

[BrianShaw23]

hell, id take big brown as a two year old over curlin as a 3 year old any time. if it werent for those quater cracks he wouldve been a super successful 2 year old.

[Ruffian4Ever]

Thats because you are the biggest idiot I have ever talked with. And Curlin never had a 2 year old season, so who knows what he would be if he had.

[BrianShaw23]

oh, and he was pulled up. never know what wouldve happened if he wasnt. there have been races where hores came from last to first on the turn for home. big brown shouldve been pulled up, he passed all physicals after the race, it was kent who screwed up.

[Ruffian4Ever]

You have to be kidding me to believe that BB would have come back in the Belmont. Now I see how much you live in a fantasy world. And Kent pulled him up after he was passed by the last horse. Sorry, but even the allowance horse Guadalcanal passed him.

[BrianShaw23]

well you know its true. anyways too much emphasis is put on big browns competition WAY TOO MUCH. most good-great horses race crap competition most of the time. the reason is that they are so good other horses look bad compared to them. anyways, big browns competition isnt as bad as you say. you talk like he raced grey hounds. anyways, he still "easily" beat his competition without trying most of the time.

[Ruffian4Ever]

Easily? Just keep living in your fantasy world. And maybe I will believe one word that comes out of your mouth when you come back to reality.

[BrianShaw23]

keep telling yourself that, keep telling yourself that... btw ruffian is dead... shouldnt you let go? lmao

[Ruffian4Ever]

You are a cold heartless bastard. Fuck you and grow the fuck up.

[BrianShaw23]

LOL. thats funny.

[gchockey4545]

Pitiful ha!ha! its funny i dont remember but did curlin win the Derby or Haskell i dont quite remember also i dont really remember if this is true false can you tell me: BB has a faster time at 9 furlongs In the florida derby then Curlin ever had a 9 furlongs. And at 10 curlin only had a fater 10 furlong race in the BBC then BB had in the Derby. Curlins Preakness was .5 seconds faster then BB in a hand ride andin the streech was slown down.

[BigBrown2332]

Curlin was faster cause of the pace, it was one of the fastest fractions in preakness history.

[samsam29]

Curlin lost the Derby.

AS for times, Curlin had better speed figures than BB. TImes can be faster or slower depending on the condition of the track, speed figures tend to compensate for that.

[gchockey45]

and what point are you trying to make samsam29

[samsam29]

I thought it was evident: that even if BB had faster times in some races, Curlin had the better speed figures, and based on those numbers (since they never matched up) he was the superior horse.

BB was a good horse that was made "great" by hype and lack of good competition.

[VanorOrion]

i have never seen any rules that say you have to win by a certain amount of lengths for a race to count, only that you are in front at the end, thats what matters. one more thing, big brown has won wire to wire, come from behind, and setting just off the lead, is curlin that versitile, i think not

[BrianShaw23]

thats a good point, curlin is more of a behind, come from behind horse. if big brown ran his usual race, big brown would be too far ahead for curlin to realistically catch him. the BBC is perfect for big brown because its 10 furlongs and because big brown has proven he can run on both dirt and grass. the poly is like dirt thats soft like grass. i think big brown will like it.

[VanorOrion]

i think the reason i like big brown so much is when i saw his earlier races there was something special that i had not seen for along while. plus dutrow and a lot of people seemed to abandon big brown after the belmont, like the steroid use earliar on was the horses fault.. i think he has tremendous heart as shown in the last two races, never mind who the challengers were. d.k.

[realeasygoer]

VanorOrion, no the margin of victory is not nearly as important the quality of your competition and watch curlins DWC, Rebel Stakes, and Arkensas Derby before you judge curlins versitilty even his breeders cup bio states that he can make his own trip. overcame some rough bumping in the woodward to move away and win

[samsam29]

What does it matter who's more versatile? What matters is who is he best at the best races.

[bigbrownfan12345]

OK so im not 'brian' but big brown had a virtually perfect trip in the haskell and he barely ran down Coal Play; he also didnt respond instantly to Kent's urging. Curlin here was bumbed in the early going, went wide, and came thru to win by 1.25 lengths.

[giselle433]

Bigbrownfan - I'm glad someone else noticed that major difference between Curlin's Woodward and Big brown's Haskell. Curlin was picking up a great amount of ground in small amount of time. Big brown wasn't gaining at all on Coal Play until Coal Play started to tire. In my opinion curlin is the best there is or has been in a long time.

[bordelon1111]

yes, curlin sure is. bigbrown is sore, beleive me.

[ruffchamp1]

easy goer,sunday silence and cigar are the 3 greatest horses since spectacular bid, by far.

[krazyassjoe]

stop comparing any of the horses that have been mentioned to Secretariat. stop it. anyone whom has made that comparison, was born a horse racing novice, and is now a horse racing buffoon. stop it. don't bother to comment. i'll ignore you unless you're smart enough to agree.

[izvestia03]

i would suggest those people go and watch and read about secretariat--freak,freak freak is what he was in all the best possible ways:)truly the measuring stick for all others.my next choice since secretariat is spectacular bid--after that i have a hard time deciding.

[NateH311]

Most overrated horse of the decade.

[tabell70]

Who is the second leading money winner of all time? And will be #1 soon? In my opinion John Henry is the greatest horse to ever live. Purse wise now it is Cigar, one more race and Curlin is the all time money winner.

[ghostzapper2006]

Money won doesn't mean a thing because the purses of many races have balooned in recent years. Just because the purses have gone up does not mean winning a race was more accomplished than winning a similiar race years ago. Unless you are willing to adjust purses won for inflation and other factors total purse money won is irrelevant. Go back and adjust the purses won by Dr Fager for example for inflation and tell me that in real dollars adjusted for inflation that Curlin won more than him???????

[tabell70]

Oh by the way who won the 1980 Woodard Stakes? You ding dong.

[garnizzle96]

actually. the most overrated horse of the decade. is a tie between many. those are. big brown, azeri, smarty jones, theres a few. curlin would run all over them.

and i agree with you tabell. john henry in my opinion isnt the greatest but he is one of the greats. along with secretariat, man o' war, citation, seabiscuit, cigar, and soon to join that list is curlin.

[KobuZeroFlux]

@garnizzle96 The only one in that list of yours that I don't agree with is Azeri, she was a wonderfull horse, not one of the greats, but still a superb racehorse

[ghostzapper2006]

No, that would be Big Brown. A hugely hyped 3 year old who has won some races against easily the weakest crop of 3 year olds we have seen in 20 years. LOL

[fudgigulizle]

yeps yeps definitely

he kicks some serious horsey ass

[giselle433]

Curlin is incredible. What a monster horse.